Turning that frown upside down since 2002

I agree with Daniel Drezner that scandal-blogging is exhausting. So here are some happy thoughts:

* Shortly after the war in Iraq, when no WMDs were immediately discovered, there was a fair amount of speculation among lefties that someone would simply plant evidence. This has not happened. It’s damning with faint praise, sure, but I can just imagine how embittering the debate would have been if there was a plausible but unprovable suspicion of planted evidence.

* Some of the folks who were smirking about how Bush was going to pull a “rope-a-dope” on those silly Democrats with their concerns about WMDs will have to take a look in the mirror, if they have one.

* I have the suspicion that the pungency of the phrase “slime and defend” is such that it shamed a few people out of attacking Wilson today.

* The folks in The Corner said many more sensible than foolish things about Rush’s comments on ESPN, and about his pathetic “First Amendment” defense.

* Reading Spencer Ackerman and Clifford May debate the White House leak of Plame’s identity is great fun. It reminds me of an old Conan O’Brian skit called “Right Side/ Wrong Side”. Conan would adopt the popular side of a non-controversial issue (like “Is it right to beat children?”), force Andy to adopt the other side, and berate him for it. Here’s an example of Ackerman responding to May:

“Attacking Larry Johnson–an ex-counterterrorism official–as someone who would compromise intelligence assets is as out of nowhere as it is deeply offensive. He hasn’t been an active CIA officer since the late ’80s. You can’t point to a single intelligence asset he compromised, on PBS or elsewhere. In fact, he’s a Fox News contributor, and, as I understand, seriously angered by the Plame outing and those who would apologize for it. The next time you see him in the Fox green room, I encourage you to make your arguments to him. If he’s heard them already, I’d advise you to walk away from him very quickly.

Similarly, you “source” your innuendo that Wilson is somehow conflicted in talking about Iraq to his affiliation as an adjunct scholar with the Middle East Institute, which you say is in bed with the Saudis. I’ll play along for now and assume that whenever Prince Bandar walks by, Wilson genuflects. Well, if you want to start arguing that Saudi connections compromise the honest assessment and conduct of foreign policy, let me direct you to the offices of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, and a slew of other Washington officials.”

* School of Rock looks like a lot of fun.

UPDATE: In comments, tripp adds:

Some good news, the weather in Iraq is cooling off, so it is more comfortable for our troops and the Iraqi’s without AC.